The ABCs For Hunters
by mistressofcliche
Summary: AU, wherein Ging does fatherly things.


_**The ABCs For Hunters**_

 _a/n:_ I was inspired to write this drabble series by moovelope's awesome ideas on tumblr, because the idea of Ging not losing custody of his son intrigues me very much. He would still be a crap father, but at least he would be trying, ya know? (Also, it's kinda difficult to write a morally ambiguous character. I did not think this through.)

 **Chapter One** \- A is for All Aboard

The air was heavy and tepid, an impending storm on the horizon. The young boy out on deck could even make out the sweet, sharp scent of shifting clouds. The downdraft was going to be something of a shock to their seabound vessel in the coming hours. Though he wasn't overly concerned. His father was at the helm.

And while this trip would hardly be easy because of that, it also meant security. He hopped onto the bow railing and breathed in deeply, basking in the fresh tang that laced the wind. Storms always had a way of thrilling him, and it felt good to be back where he felt most at home - somewhere close to the sea. Not only was the temperature pleasantly warm after months up North, he was much more comfortable in shorts and a tank top. It was so much easier to move in them.

He craned his head back and glanced at the deceptively calm sky, his eyes following the birds above. From the urgency of their cries, he could tell they weren't too far off from the storm; he could probably hazard a guess of at least another two hours before they hit the outskirts of it.

"Hey kid, that's dangerous!"

Curious, he spun to face the person who had called out to him and immediately broke out into a grin. It was one of the other applicants pursuing a Hunter license, just like him. This was also the first time one of them had spoke to him.

"Hi!" he called back, stepping off the railing with a cheerful wave. "Did you need something, mister?"

"M-Mister?" The man spluttered for a few moments more before he got a hold of his thoughts and thought better of voicing them. "I don't need anything, you damn brat! Here I was trying to warn you, and you -" Well, almost all of them.

"That's enough," interrupted someone with a certain amount of calm. Piercing brown eyes spoke of the exact opposite though, burning with a fierceness that piqued the young boy's interest immediately. "But I must agree," the man continued. "It's much too dangerous up there. Can't you tell a storm is coming?"

"What, a storm?" The other man looked surprised to hear it. "How can you tell?"

Closing his eyes, the boy raised both hands to his ears and said, "Just listen. Do you hear that? The sea, the birds, the wind … they're all restless."

"You don't seem concerned," noted the man with the blond hair, his fierce brown eyes narrowing just a fraction. "It can't be … is your captain intentionally leading us into it?"

Shrugging, not even he knew if that was the case or not. His father did what he wanted, whenever he wanted. To hell with the consequences. "Your guess is as good as mine." Then he thrust out his hand, his smile never wavering, and told them, "I'm Gon, by the way. Nice to meet'cha!"

"Leorio," spoke the first man, sunglasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. He shook the boy's hand briefly and then stepped aside, face scrunched up in concentration as he tried to take in the details he had previously overlooked - from the darkening water to the moisture tickling at his skin.

The blond man hesitated a moment longer before giving in and shaking hands with the bubbly child as well. "My name is Kurapika."

"Great!" cheered Gon. "Now we're all friends."

Kurapika bit his tongue to stop the protest forming on it. "I suppose so," he said instead, unsurely. "Now, about that storm …"

They spoke at length of how to determine from where, when, and how strongly the storm would impact them. It was fun, and just what Gon had been missing from this trip - someone to spend it with. His father was willful and independent, so he didn't like it when Gon hovered around. Boundless energy cooped up in one place was never a good thing, his father said.

That had left him to seek out company among the crew. Except the crew was rather mutinous, considering they had hijacked their boat from its previous captain. A captain who happened to be a part of what was dubbed the unofficial Hunter Exam.

He could have made friends with the other Examinees, but most of them didn't even look his way. And if they did, they didn't see an equal. They saw a punk kid who had helped steal away their only chance of getting to the real Hunter Exam. A misunderstanding on their part, but his father had told him to keep quiet about it.

So it meant a lot to him that these two had gone out of their way to speak with him, even if it was out of a misbegotten concern. That was more than the others had thrown his way, and he enjoyed the attention. "And this one time a storm was so bad we were shipwrecked for days!"

Leorio made a face at this particular anecdote and told him, "Yeah, not what I want to hear right now."

Gon simply laughed and said, "Don't worry, Ging knows what he's doing."

However, his new friends didn't seem to believe that as much as he did. "Ging? Our captain? What else do you know about him?" Kurapika asked, arms crossed as he studied the shorter boy intently.

"Oh, um … he's sort of unpredictable?" Gon scratched at the top of his head, ruffling the spikes there. "And he loves reckless challenges!" He seemed pretty proud of this statement.

"Still not exactly filling me with confidence here, kid," Leorio was quick to point out. "So, what is he anyway? A pirate? An asshole who gets his kicks by messing things up? A thief maybe?" He purposely ignored the way Kurapika elbowed him in the side. If the other man had a problem with his choice of words, so be it.

Again, Gon just laughed. "No, he's a Hunter!"

Kurapika and Leorio were surprised, to say the least. Why in the world would a Hunter need to hijack a ship? A ship headed for the Hunter Exam, nonetheless?

"Pretty cool, right? And he's my dad, too!"

Oh, well, that might have been why. A warped version of seeing his child off to school. Or in this case, off to his probable death. What a wonderful parent, thought Leorio distastefully. He clapped a hand onto Gon's shoulder and informed him, "You're coming with me."

"Okay! That sounds fun." Gon's smile lit up his whole face. "But Kurapika's coming with us, isn't he?" Two sets of inquisitive eyes turned to the blond.

Put on the spot, Kurapika sighed and turned his head away. "I don't know. It seems rather foolish to form a team like this before we even know what the Exam will be like."

Gon stepped into Kurapika's line of sight, still grinning. "Aww, come on. It'll be great! We can help each other out and stuff. I bet the whole reason we take the Exam at the same time is so we can meet lots of wonderful people! Like Leorio. Like you."

"I don't think that's why …" Kurapika stopped there. What Gon had said finally sank in. He had never heard someone speak so innocently before. No ulterior motive, no expectation, just a straightforward belief that what he was saying was the truth. It was intriguing enough that he decided to alter his response. "I'm not completely against the idea of teaming up, though."

"Good, great." Leorio slung an arm around Kurapika and pulled him closer, whispering, "Let's keep the kid out of trouble, yeah? I don't think he's had the best role model in the world …"

"I agree," Kurapika acknowledged, and then promptly pushed Leorio away with a hand to face. "Now, if you don't mind. Your breath stinks."

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

"Ouch! Get back here, blondie. I wasn't done talking!"

"My name is Kurapika."

"Hey, can we play a game? I like hide and seek the best!"

Or something like it anyway.


End file.
